Stretcher



April 15 1924, 1,490,425

J. W. MAY

STRETCHER Filed Aug. 10, 19,22 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 15, 1924. 1,490,425

J. w. MAY

STRETCHER Filed Aug. 10. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 15, 1924.

PATENT OFFEQE.

STATES JAMES 1U. MAY, OF OjVf-IENSBORO, KENTUCKY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO LEO IE.

BURKS, F OWENSBORO, KENTUCKY.

Application filed August 10, 1922; Serial No. 580,950.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES N. MAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Owensboro, in the county of Daviess and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stretchers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to stretching devices and has special reference to devices for stretching belts, wire fences, or similar appliances. One object of the invention is to provide an improved construction whereby the ends of the belt will be firmly clamped while being drawn together, and another object of the invention is to provide an improved construction whereby the ends of the belt will be drawn toward each other with each movement of the operating lever, and a further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the stretched portions of the belt will be prevented from relaxing while the ends are being joined, and also to provide means whereby the belt may be quickly released and the device set for a second operation. lhese several stated objects and other objects which will incidentally appear in the course of the following description are attained in the use of such a mechanism as is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and the invention resides in certain novel feature which will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a side elevation, with parts broken away, of my improved stretcher;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 1 is a transverse section on the line 1 l of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the clamp.

in carrying out my invention, I employ a pair of standards or posts 1 to which is secured near their lower ends a base or guide plate 2 which is of greater width than the standards and is so disposed that it projects equal distances laterally from both sides of the standards. This base or guide plate 2 is secured to the respective standards by bolts or rivets 3 and the said bolts or rivets serve also to secure to the side edges of the guide plate, side plates or rails 1 which project above the guide plate and co-operate with the same and the standards 1 to form ways in which the rack or stretcher bars 5 may slide. The said bars may be of any desired length and are provided with longitudinal slots 6 receiving the projecting portions of the base or guide plate 2 so that the rack bars will be firmly supported and caused to move in rectilinear paths, being held in proper relation to the sides of the post 1 by the rails 1, as will be readilyunderstood. 'The rack bars are provided in theirupper edges with teeth 7 which are engaged by working and holding dogs in the operation of the device. Secured to and connecting the upper ends of the standards 1 are side bars 8 and disposed between the said side bars at the center thereof is an operating lever 9 which may beof any wellknown or preferred form and is pivotally supported by and between the said bars by, the insertion of a fulcrum bolt 10 transversely through the bars and the lever. As shown most clearly in Fig. 1, the lower ends of the operating lever is disposed adjacent the horizontal plane of the upper edges of the sliding racks and, of course, is disposed midway between the vertical planes of said racks. Pivotally mounted upon the opposite sides of the lever at the lower extremity thereof are the working dogs 11 which extend in opposite directions from the lever and are supported thereon by a fulcrum bolt 12, as shown and as will be readily understood. These dogs 11. engage the teeth 7 of the respective racks and are held in such engagement by springs 13 bearing upon the upper sides of the respective dogs and held-upon the lever by studs i l in an obvious manner, pins 15 being provided upon the lever to maintain the active engagement of the springs with the respective dogs. I also provide holding dogs 16 which are mounted upon the respective standards 1 and are held to the respective racks by springs 17 secured to the respective. standards by studs 18 and pins 19 in the same manner as the springs 13 are held to the lever. At the upper ends of the stand ards 1, I secure brackets 20 which are arranged in pairs and are secured in place by the same bolts or rivets which secure the side bars 8 to the standards. The brackets project above the standards and the said cross bars, and setting angle levers 21 are pivotally mounted between the upper ends of the members of each pair'of brackets, as

clearly shown in Fig. 1. The upper arm of each lever extends normally vertically upwardfrom the fulcrum of the lever and constitutes a handle whereby the lever may be manipulated while the lateral arm of the lever projects inwardly toward the operating lever, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, and has pivoted to its extremity the upper ends of links 22 and 23 which depend from the lever and have their lower ends engaged in eyes upon the upper sides of the dogs 11 and 16 respectively so that, if the handle members of the levers be swung outwardly and downwardly, the lateral arms thereof will be swung upwardly and the dogs thereby released from the respective rack bars. Each angle lever 21 is constructed with a convex edge portion 24 concentric with its fulcrum and of such radius that it will bear frictionally upon the upper end of the adjacent standard 1 so that, by its frictional engagement with said standard, it will remain in a set position. The operativeness of the dogs will thus be maintained without necessitating costly locking devices to maintain the setting levers in any position to which they may be moved.

Each sliding rack bar 5 is constructed at its outer end with a perforated lug or ear 25 which fits between the branches of a yoke 26 and is pivotally connected with said yoke by a bolt or stud 27 inserted therethrough, as will be readily understood upon reference to Figs. 1 and 5. Swiveled in the head of each yoke 26 is a hook 28 which is adapted to engage an eye 29 upon the upper member of the belt clamp. The belt clamp consists of two blocks or bars 30 and 31 of hard wood and of the same dimensions which are dis posed, respectively, above and below the belt, indicated at 32, and in the opposed faces of the clamping blocks or bars are formed grooves 33 whereby a firm grip upon the end of the belt is attained. The clamping blocks are, of course, of such size that they will project beyond the side edges of the belt and in the ends of the blocks are formed notches or slots 34 to accommodate clips or stirrups 35 which are disposed vertically through the said notches or slots and are provided with threaded extremities. Upon the threaded extremities of the said stirrups or clips are mounted clip or bridging plates 36 and nuts 37 which are adapted to abut and be turned home against the under side of the lower clamping bar 31. A. bearing plate 38 is fitted around the upper portion of each clip so as to bridge the slot or notch 34in the upper clamping bar, and a locking cam 39 is pivotally engaged with the upper end or head of each clip and fits between the side members of the same to rest upon the said bearing plate 38 so that, when the high part of the cam bears upon said plate, the clampingblocks will be forced into binding engagement with the opposite faces of the belt and thereby firmly and securely hold the same. It will be noted that the eyes 29 are carried by the upper clamping blocks and the stretching mechanism supported by and between the clamping blocks will he, therefore, arranged above the belt so that it may be easily operated without any interference of any kind with the belt.

It is thought the operation of my improved stretcher will be readily understood from what has been said. The belt, which is to be stretched so that its ends may be joined and the proper tension exerted by the belt upon the pulleys with which it co-operates, is engaged by and between the clamping bars and the operating lever then oscillated so as to cause the rack bars to slide in opposite directions past each other and thereby pull the ends of the belt toward each other. lVhen the belt has been suliiciently stretched, the ends thereof are joined by lacing or any other approved belt fastener in the usual manner. To secure the end portions of the belt in the respective clamps, the cams or eccentrics 39 are turned so that their low parts will be presented to the respective bearing plates 38, thereby permitting the clamping blocks to be moved apart to permit the insertion of an end of the belt between them, after which the locking cam or eccentric is turned to the position shown in Fig. 1, whereby the clan'iping blocks will be forced into binding engagement with the belt. The hooks 28 at the ends of the rack bars are then engaged in the eyes 29 and the rack bars may be pushed inwardly by hand over the side portions of the base guide plate 2 until the belt is moderately taut. It is obvious that, when the rack bars are thus pushed inwardly, they will ride easily under the dogs 11 and 16, but, if preferred, the setting levers 21 may be previously set so that the dogs will be above the rack bars and out of engagement therewith. When the rack bars have been pushed inwardly as far as possible without requiring pronounced exertion upon the part of the operator, the dogs are permitted to drop into engagement with the rack bars and the operating lever 9 is then oscillated upon its fulcrum 10. When the lever moves in one direction, the dog 11, upon one side of the same, will be active and will effect sliding movement of the rack bar engaged by it, while the dog 11 at the opposite side of the lever will merely ride over the teeth of the rack bar which it engages, retrograde movement of both rack bars being prevented by the engagement of the holding dogs 16 therewith so that there will be no relaxing of the belt after partial stretching of the same. Upon reverse movement of the operating lever, the formerly active dog 11 will merely ride over the teeth of the rack bar engaged by it, while the formerly inactive dog will become active and will effect sliding movement of the rack bar it engages. It will thus be seen that at each movement of the operating lever, the belt will be partly stretched, the stretching action occurring alternately at the opposite ends of the belt. The ends of the belt will thus be quickly brought into such relation that they may be fastened, as will be readily understood. -Ai"ter the ends of the belt have been joined and it is desired to remove the stretcher, the setting levers 21 may be swung outwardly so that the several dogs will be released from the rack bars and the rack bars may then be pushed outwardly sufficiently to permit ready separation of the same from the clamps. The locking cams or eccentrics 39 are then released so that the clamping blocks may be separated and the belt will then be ready for use. It is not necessary to disturb the adjustment of the clips 35 in order to separate the clamping blocks inasmuch as the provision of the notches or open-ended slots 34 in the ends of the clamping blocks will permit the clips to he slid endwise from the blocks in an obvious manner.

My improved stretching apparatus is very simple in the construction of its parts and compact in its arrangement so that it will operate efficiently with a minimum exertion by the operator and is not apt to get out of order. While I have hereinbefore referred to the device, for convenience, as a belt stretcher, it will be readily understood that it is capable of use in other fields and may be employed to connect the ends of any devices which are to be held in a taut condition. It will be found very advantageous in splicing the ends of broken fence wires, or connecting. cables, and may be used for such purposes Without any change in the construction or arrangement of any of its parts.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed as new is:

1. A stretching apparatus comprising independent stretcher bars arranged in parallelism and on edge, clamps carried by the outer ends of the respective bars, a frame slidably supporting the said stretcher bars and disposed between and rising above the same, an operating lever mounted in said frame, oppositely disposed dogs mounted upon the sides of said lever and engaging the respective stretcher bars whereby oscillation of the lever will actuate said bars alternately to move them past each other on the frame, and holding dogs mounted upon the frame and engaging the respective bars.

2. A stretching apparatus comprising a pair of standards, a guide plate secured to and between said standards and projecting laterally therefrom, slotted stretcher bars fitted to said guide plate against the oppo site sides of the standards and disposed to 6K9 move in opposite directions, guide rails secured to the outer edges of the guide plate and retaining the stretcher bars thereon, clamps carried by the outer ends of the respective stretcher bars, an operating lever. mounted for oscillation between the standards and above the stretcher bars, dogs carried by the lever and engaging the respective stretcher bars, and other dogs mounted upon the standards and engaging the respective stretcher bars.

3. A stretching apparatus comprising a pair of standards, lateral longitudinally extending guides connected with the lower ends of the standards on the sides of the same, separate stretcher bars fitted to and 'supported slidably by the respective guides and extending in opposite directions therefrom, clamps carried by the outer ends of the respective stretcher bars, an operating lever supported by and between the standards, reversely disposed dogs carried by the lower end of said lever and engaging the respective stretcher bars, holding dogs mounted upon the standards and engaging the stretcher bars to prevent reverse movement thereof, and means for releasing all the dogs from the stretcher bars.

4. A stretching apparatus comprising a pair of standards, lateral longitudinally extending guides at the lower ends of the standards, stretcher bars slidably fitted to and supported by the respective guides and extending in opposite directions therefrom, clamps carried by the outer ends of the respective stretcher bars, an operating lever disposed between the standards and above the stretcher bars, reversely disposed dogs carried by the lower end of the said lever and engaging the respective stretcher bars, oppositely disposed dogs upon the standards engaging the respective stretcher bars, a setting lever at the upper end of each standard, and links connecting each setting lever with the holding dog at one side of the lever and the working dog at the opposite side of the lever.

5. A stretching apparatus comprising a frame, separate parallel stretcher bars slidably mounted in said frame, means for connecting said bars to parts to be stretched, an oscillatory lever, oppositely disposed working dogs carried by the sides of the lever and engaging the respective stretcher bars, holding dogs mounted on the frame and engaging the respective stretcher bars, and means for simultaneously releasing the holding dog engaging one stretcher bar and the I\Ovorking dog engaging the other stretcher In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

JAMES W. MAY. n 5. 

